Please advise, is there a key to good behaviour?
My dog knows all commands, but is still so naughty and seems to do it all his way!
At least that is the way it seems,we just seem to master something then its gone........
Could be his age, I just believe we are missing some key thing.
So if there is any very basic golden rule please tell me.....
Karen :-(

A key to good behaviour? Old age, I think! How old is your dog?

Hmmm, thanks JG, thats it then he's almost 13 months......
I do mean naughty too, He's not bad, so I hate anybody getting cross, they then tell me I spoil him him, which I dont. Just wont let them shout loudly or get angry with him.
Karen

He's a teenager, and we all know how they behave! Just keep plodding on with the basics, and when he comes out the other side of adolescence his hormone levels will fall and he'll become easier to live with. :)

What JG is true.  I didn't think my dog would ever calm down especially as someone told me that my breed doesn't calm down until arthritis sets in   She did calm down though and although she has bags of energy she is really quite calm and relaxed.

I read that my breed should be scolded in sorrow rather than anger and that is something that I did take on board although I did used to get very upset during the adolescent period.  These days I only have to say "what did you do?" and the ears go down and she creeps along submissively because she wants to please us all the time and hates being told off.

Keep your chin up, they do grow out of the naughty phase.

Remind yourself (and anyone who says he's naughty etc!) that just because he's not a baby puppy any more it doesn't mean he's grown up. Remember that a 15 year old boy can be 6' tall, but it doesn't mean he's a responsible mature man, and it would be unfair to expect him to behave like one. A dog is a technically a puppy till 12 months, so your boy is only just past that milestone - don't expect to notice adult behaviour for another year or two at least. (By all means hope for it, but don't expect it - that way you won't be disappointed!! :D)

Thank you all so much, the child in me still needs so much reassurance!
The days that he is noticably 'good' are there sometimes, just not often.
Karen

You are not alone - our GR is nearly 15 months old and has gone from 98% responsive to 50% hooligan when we are out walking. I know they go through the teenage stage but never realised he would be a prime example for an ASBO :D

LOL :-) Harley - A qualification, never thought of it that way!

Remember everything that you are teaching him does go in, he is just at present choosing not to use it, (those darn hormones are over-riding everything) just keep guiding him back in with a patient and kind voice, and continue to be constistant. As already said when grown up he will be a different dog.

Please advise, is there a key to good behaviour?
My dog knows all commands, but is still so naughty and seems to do it all his way!
At least that is the way it seems,we just seem to master something then its gone........
Could be his age, I just believe we are missing some key thing.
So if there is any very basic golden rule please tell me.....
Karen 

Generally, consistency, constant training (ie a tiny bit every day) and patience is the key :)
I'd also add something else on - an understanding of how to train effectively ;)

It helps to examine the problem - for example, if the dog is not obeying recall, did you set him up to fail? Have you trained him to
come back from distractions or did you believe he would know this just from training basic recall? What rewards are you using, or
have you stopped using rewards?

Hth a bit, it's not intended as criticism but generally as adolescence is so difficult very often, the owner IMHO needs to have a kind of
training plan and be dedicated to it. Owners often give up on training after initial classes and count the dog as "trained", understandably.

I train my dog a little bit most days, or we use her training in ways that remind her (eg searching for toys or food which includes
a good Wait, that sort of thing) :)

Lindsay
x

Delighted to hear your comments too!
We are enlisting the advise of a lady who trains for clicker training, shes coming on Thursday.
I have warned the family that we are the ones who have to be trained to get it right. I believe she says, 'there are no naughty dogs but ther are clever dogs'.
We did start at obedience classes when he was old enough, however they insisted on squirting him with water every time he barked!. Didn't know any better then but decided very quickly that it wasn't right so didn't last very long at that. Have done our own thing since. Alongside Junior handling/ringcraft.
Karen

If it's any comfort our youngster Max has suddenly turned from the dog from hell into an angel - he is 15 months and from around 9 months was a great big naughty buffoon - he drove me insane and I sometimes dispaired of him ever becoming sensible. But almost overnight he has grown up :D - we took him to a show yesterday - only his second ever as he had been totally unshowable before - he stood beautifully for the judge - sat sensibly round the ringside and moved using all four feet instead of the usual two ( well apart from jumping over the yellow lines marked on the floor of the ring :rolleyes:). He came away with a 2nd place rosette ( his sister got first !) and a very happy mum .

The teenage stage can be a total nightmare but most of them DO grow out of it ;)

Yvonne

Take heart, poloaussie, they do grow out of it! Only when I look back at some aspects of Lord Nipton's teenage behaviour I wonder whether the much more sensible (and biddable) chap I have now is completely well!! Terriers are wonderfully wicked but do seem to mature more quickly than some breeds and the maturity seems to be an almost overnight miracle. He'll be 16 months old this week, by the way.

I'm a tremendously amateur trainer, incidentally, relying on instinct and consistency rather than following any properly recognised system so I'm sure I can't take that much credit for the transformation. :D

I have a 12 year old Golden who has her Gold KC Good Citizen award but must have been on a good day when we took it (all those years ago) because she is the only dog I have ever owned that can give me two fingers when she is not in the mood to do as I want.

Our Goldie and a Goldie we had years ago are just the same.  We go out and he does everything he's told then the next day he just won't listen.  He knows he should be doing whatever we tell him but like you said he just tells you were to go